Separated From You
by craziikatedgiirl
Summary: This is a story of a freshman clarinet badly falling for a senior trumpet, all revolving around the marching band season. chapter 10 is finally up!
1. it began

I met Kyle on the 2nd day of band camp. I was known as Lanie's little sister to him and majority of upper-class band. I knew he was off-limits to start with. On the first day of band camp, I'd been warned 6 times about him. 3 of those times were from Gretchen, my neighbor and best friend.

"Liz, listen to me. Kyle used to be my boyfriend, and I thought he was all that and a box of chocolates. But he's more like the guy in John Tucker Must Die" She would tell me, warning me if I ever went out with him there would be hell to pay.

But, he seemed like someone who was genuinely sweet and caring, with a few laughs here and there.

Band Camp flew by in the week I was there… all because I was amazed with how** HOT** and funny Kyle truly was. Gretchen and her friends wouldn't buy it for a second. I flirted around with him and stole something of his, but he didn't care and laughed whenever I showed it off. (Gretchen wanted to ruin it with permanent marker.) Any time I would make contact with him, I'd get whisked away by Gretchen or her friends, and lectured for how careless I could be for talking to him.

Band Camp Dance was the best time of the whole band camp week. I was dancing with my boyfriend and out of nowhere Kyle tapped him on the shoulder to ask if he could cut in. I only danced with him twice, but when I did, I felt amazing. He made me feel so comfortable, it was amazing. I felt like I was flying.

As I headed back to the dorm that night, with all the drama going on (there was 6 girls in each room!) I felt like I was … I dunno. The feeling was indescribable.

I forgot all about it for a while, helping two crying friends patch up things with boys who broke their hearts. I couldn't help but have a twinge of happiness when someone asked me about my night or who I danced with.

I lay in bed that night with my, and thought of how great it would be if we were going out…

But there are a few problems with that.

I have a boyfriend.

Gretchen would be furious.

My own sister would freak.

He's the superintendent's son.

Sometimes trumpets and clarinets clash.

Worst of all,

He's a senior; I'm just a freshman.

There was so much separating me from him, but it didn't seem to bother me for the time being.

Every single word out of his mouth made me smile for hours on end.

It was pretty hard, though, to actually try and stop.

This is just to get started... it'll get better, I promise. Especially when I include band nights and football games. )

R&R


	2. curse of the hat

**Authors Note; aww. Come on. It's not that hard to click the review button /**

**Oh well. I like this story and am continuing with or without reviews. So Ha.**

_Chapter 2;_

_The curse of the hat_

After a week back from band camp, we had finally had practice. A week without band for me is like, a week without my friends. In some ways, that was basically true. I hadn't seen my best friends Kirstie and Jessica all, and I hadn't seen my boyfriend either. But, on the up side, I had seen Kyle twice. Lucky for me, he conveniently lives right down my street. Whenever he would drive by my house, he'd wave and give me a silly look.

"Elizabeth, you had better get down here in five seconds or you aren't going to practice at all." Derek, my older brother, yelled up the steps to me.

I rushed down the stairs, clarinet in one hand and my left shoe in the other. I was attempting to jam it on when he called, but it didn't help.

After rushing out to the car, I stumbled into the car.

Derek was bursting with laughter, as if I was the funniest sight he had ever seen.

I gave him a hard glare and told him to hurry up.

After arriving, I sat in the band room, catching up with my friends. My boyfriend sat next to me, and I would automatically include him in our conversations. He didn't seem to mind if he understood it or not. Our band director immediately started practice, for we only had two more practices to clean up our show before band nights. Instead of sitting at my usual chair, I swapped seats with another girl to sit by Kirstie. We played through our list of songs, and right after finishing ac/dc, I noticed.

"Kirstie! Lookit!"

She gave me a weird look and stared in the direction I was eyeing.

"Umm. So?"

"He's right there? So close to you?"

"Uhh. Yea."

"Awesome. I love this seat."

She just looks at me with the same look, and shakes her head.

After practicing inside for what seems like an eternity, we go out to practice.  
We walk up the field behind the high school, when I realize that Kyle's right behind me.

"Wow. Your short."

I roll my eyes. Go figure

"Wow. You're tall. So?"

He just shrugs and we keep walking.

The sun is straight in my eyes, even with sunglasses its hard to block it.

I then get an idea.

Looking back at Kyle, I see exactly what I want. His hat.

With flirting, I swiftly just took the hat and placed it on my head.

Kyle laughed as it fell over my eyes, being too big.

He offers up help, adjusting it in the back.

While lining up, my squad leader, looked over and her eyes widened.

"Liz! What in the world is that?"

"Umm. A hat."

She shakes her head, and calls over Gretchen, who just so happens to be her best friend.

Gretchen tries to grab it from me but I pull it to stay on my head.

After lining up on the back row for run on, all I can hear is "burn it, burn it, burn it." Coming from the general direction of my squad leader.

After going through a few songs, our director is yelling us for how sloppy our performance is.

Gretchen approached me after, and told me it was the curse of the hat.

I told Kyle and he laughed.

**well? whatd u think? you like? please r&r ) up next, im skipping to a crucial band niite  
**


	3. BAND NITE!

**A/N: please review, mmk? even constructive criticism is welcome.  
i dunno why it seems so hard to click one little button.. ohwell.  
PercussionChick-- THANK YOU : ) i apreciate it sooo much  
**

It was our first band night. Our time to show off; to prove that we actually could do well after weeks and weeks of practice. My second time performing with the band, first time to perform in front of complete strangers from another school. Walking into the instrument room, the first thing I saw was hands reaching to put something around my neck. I looked at it, and it was a necklace made from plastic toys you would usually find in gumball machines. It was really cute, and when I looked over at the beholder, I had to laugh.

"Do you like it?" Kyle asked, obviously curious

I nodded, smiling. "Its really cute."

He smiles back, and his friend Hayden interrupts us.

I walk away to the band room with a tiny wave, and head up to my seat in the clarinet section.

Our clarinet section is split up in 3 rows, partially because our band is over 200 members this year.

As I pass through the middle row, everyone looks at the necklace and me. I smile conceitedly, thinking how I'm lucky to have what I have. I sit next to Kirstie as we set our uniforms on the back of our chairs.

"Liz, that necklace is extremely cute. How much did it cost? I want one." Kirstie says, awing over it.

"I didn't buy it."

"Oh," She thinks for a second, "Well. How did you make it?"

I just grin and don't answer. Hoping she'll get the idea.

She sits there with a puzzled look on her face… and then she understands.

"Kyle?" she asks.

I smile brighter. "Kyle."

She just shakes her head, and we go outside to set our uniforms on the buses early; I set mine in a seat next to Jake's (my boyfriend's) things.

I just acted like I wasn't paying attention when half the band was talking about what I was wearing around my neck.

After walking back, I met up with my boyfriend, who didn't seem to care about the necklace. It kind of bothered me a little bit, though. I wanted someone to fight for me, not just go along with how things turn out. I pushed those things aside.

After many, "what a cute necklace" 's and a lot of "where did you get that" 's, and even an "I want to break it!" from Gretchen and Co., we practiced west coast and headed on to the buses for band night.

I sat next to Jake and we sat and talked for a while. It wasn't much, but I didn't really care. Getting closer and closer to Portersville for band night, our bus was bouncing off the walls, aftermath of pixie sticks and mountain dew or vault.

We were third to be on field, so as soon as we got there… we stood behind the end zone and watched nervously as the other two bands performed.

I got pulled aside, and noticed Kyle was standing in front of me.

"Are you okay? You seem a little nervous."

He was right; I was to the point of shaking.

I nodded slightly, trying not to give it away that I felt I was going to screw up right in the beginning.

"Don't worry," he smiled at me, " Everyone freaks out first band night. Heck, I'm even a little nervous myself. Here. Let me teach you something."

He took my hand and led me through a 'Don't Screw Up' handshake that made me laugh. Right before going on field, he gave me a hug, and said,

"Don't worry about it at all. You're gonna do awesome. I got to go now. I hope your boyfriend didn't get mad I was hugging the prettiest girl in the whole stadium."

I smiled practically throughout all of the performance (Even though it's hard to smile and play clarinet at the same time.) and I didn't mess up once.

After, we marched off the field and Liz smiles mischievously.

"Hmm. Was that flirting I saw before the show?"

I play along, laughing, "Why, yes. I believe so," but then I switch back to reality, "come on, Liz. He flirts with absolutely everyone. It wouldn't make me so different."

"Oh, contraire. It seems totally different with you, though."

I roll my eyes at her and playfully punch her in the arm

But I couldn't stop thinking about that; especially after the long hug he gave me before I left.

I could see how I could easily be like any other girl to him, but he seemed to be turning out to be something I liked. But after I realized what I had just thought, I thought of something else. I cant be saying this stuff with a boyfriend!

**Please Review! all are welcome ; )**


	4. READ THIS

**A/N: **

**Mmk, people. Listen up. **

**My story is basically going on hold for a while for a few reasons:**

**1) 2 reviews from the same person. (Who just so happens to be totally awesome) I would (PLEASE) like more. **

**2) I've just started High School, taking 2 honors classes. I have dance and help teach 3rd graders on Sundays, and I'm also in drama club. So yea, I've got a ton on my plate.**

**3) The story in real life is in complete development, and a ton has been happening with 'Jake'.**

**If I don't get more reviews, then… the next chapter is going to take a bit more time.**

**But if I get motivated, by… lets just say 2 or 3 more reviews, the next couple of chapters should be up soon.**

**Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this and my story! I appreciate it tons!**


	5. Jake vs Kyle

**A/N: You know the drill. Read and Review, and it'll make me VERY happy :)  
I thank PercussionChick  
&  
Band-Lover-Trumpet  
for reviewing. i extremelly apreciated it.  
THANKS!**

**CHAPTER 4: Jake vs. Kyle  
**

After the band night of the novelty necklace, we played the same set of music throughout the next few days. It included much more flirting and smiling, but I knew that I was fighting a conflict between my boyfriend and a boy friend. After coming home from band, I would just lie on my bed and think. I kind of cut off my friends, if you want to count it like that. They thought I was acting this way because of Kyle, and only Kyle. To be honest, I thought Jessica was jealous. If you would catch her and I hanging out alone, she'd be totally fine. But if Kyle were around, she'd give me the cold shoulder. At first I didn't realize it, but after I saw her reaction when he had his hands around my neck at the Portersville band night, I had figured it out.

Our home band night was almost as nerve wracking as the first band night. All of our family would be there, and majority of our friends who weren't in band would be there also. Hanging around in the hallways before the uniform doors opened up seemed to be simply a frivolous option before, but, this time, we were set on coming at least a half hour earlier to hang out with friends discussing various things, as in, "where are we sitting in the bleachers? With who?" or "I can't wait to flirt with him/her again." (Yeah, our school is known for the most hookups and breakups in a day.)

Me and my other friends, Kaitlyn, Alexis, and Torie sat with our backs to the band lockers and talked about nothing else but the latest hot guys in the band.

"Ooh have you seen Jones, as in Danny? He's turned total hot from last year. Complete transformation." Torie states, getting a look in her eye.

"Eh. He's okay. It's Taylor Kelp that's looking totally bee-yooouh-tiful. He's a junior, I think."

We nod our heads at Alexis, when Kaitlyn speaks.

"Kyle Kensinger. God, that kid is gorgeous." My head immediately snaps in her direction, my eyes widen a bit.

"You like Kyle?" I ask, my voice squeaking slightly

She smirks at me before answering,

"Come on, Liz. Like I could ever do that to you. All I'm saying is that he's a stud muffin."

Stud muffin. What a simple way to put it.

Alexis gets a weird look on her face and asks, "Why does Liz have dibs on him? She has a boyfriend, remember?"

The whole group gets completely quiet thinking about what Alexis had just said, and they all peered over to me.

I bite my lip, trying to reply to this calmly and with reason, but fortunately get saved by Mrs. Ellis holding the keys to the uniform closets.

I rush there, and take my uniform to my seat along with my clarinet, and walk outside. We still have an hour until we have to be dressed to march down to the field. I decide to take a different route and find Jessica and Kristie. I walk outside, but am greeted with a warm hug from the wonderful Jake. I looked up at him and smiled, and the look he gave me was a smile, but I knew it wasn't real.

"Jake? What's wrong?"

His smile immediately drops and he shakes his head in reply, but I knew there was always reason behind problem.

"Tell me."

"No. I don't want to!" he practically yells, shocking me slightly.

I just nod in response.

I could tell that he was in a bad mood, and I didn't want to push him farther.

"Okay, well. I'll talk to you later. I gotta go find Kirstie." I mumble, partially running from him.

Kirstie and Jessica appear side-by-side sitting against the brick of the outer wall of the band room.

"Hey, Liz. What's up with that look on your face? It looks like someone just kicked your new puppy." (Leave it to Jessica to come up with the weirdest comparisons)

"Jake problems."

Her mouth forms into an o form as Kirstie nods in response.

"I don't know what to do. I mean, I can't help that I've been hanging out with Kyle a lot," I say, as Jessica cringes, "but I really care about him. A lot. I don't know what to do."

Jessica again makes another facial comment, this time rolling her eyes.

"Well maybe if you weren't so oblivious, you'd see something about him, too."

I was about to ask what that was, but unfortunately, Mr. Bruckner, the assistant band director, called a five minute warning before the meeting. We walk into the band room together, put on our tacky pants with suspenders (if they were red, we would've probably looked like Mario from those old 'Mario Brothers' video games), and continued to button our hard to button uniforms.

After the five minute meeting in the band room, everyone was hyped up and ready to play for the game. We were sweating already by the first five seconds being outside, with our hats even on, but that was to be expected.

We stood in lines of six, and were yelled at time and time again to watch being on the right foot. I had already marched the summer parade, so marching this had been a breeze. The only difference, though, was marching down a steep hill and doing a kick at the same time. Bump-bump-ba-dump, bump-bump-ba-dump, bump-bump-ba-dump…kick! The drums never missed a beat and I was lucky to not even miss a kick or turn or was off step.

After finishing the alma mater and the national anthem, we re-arranged our seating to sit by whomever we wanted. I sat up by Jessica, Kirstie, Kaitlyn and Jake.

Jake seemed to be better now, he sat with his arm draped around my waist, but he still refused to kiss me for some reason. My lips would dangle slightly in front of his, but he would end up turning his head before they met his. I was disappointed, but I wouldn't let it ruin my night.

Everything seemed to turn when Kyle came and sat right next to me.

I don't know, maybe it was just impulse, but when he was flirting with me, I flirted back. Jake's tight grip that was once around my waist was gone, and he was over talking with Torie's older sister. Jessica, as I noticed, had a glare on her face that she tried to hide. I knew that she was getting jealous.

Seven minutes before half time.

We walked past the bleachers on the home side to get to the opposite end of the field, where we would start with run-on. Our show would go: West Coast; Run-on, Proclamation, Them Changes, Drum Feature, American Woman, Two turns into a star, Aerosmith, Scatter Drill (bells play Jeopardy), Love Shack w/ a band dance in between, flutes and tubas, left turn off field.

I knew the whole thing by heart (who wouldn't? We practiced 3 times a day at band camp), but when it came to playing in front of both my family and friends, I was practically a rookie.

I stood in position when a familiar face came behind me.

It was none other than Kyle Kensinger.

I put on my cutest smile and put my thoughts aside.

"So, are you worried bout this band night? Its one of the biggest turnouts."

I shrugged, and told him something that made sense,

"Yeah, but I don't think its that big of a deal. If you mess up, there's another two hundred and some other kids to make up for your mistakes."

He flashed me one of his million dollar grins before he spoke again.

"So, uh, every Friday, me and all my friends go to truck world **A/N**: **it's a weird place, I know, but that's practically the only place up that late at night in our town**, to, like, hang out and stuff. Do you want to come? Uh, as long as its okay with Jake."

I was kind of taken aback. I didn't really expect to be invited out with the most infamous Kyle Kensinger on a Friday night.

"Sure. If I'm allowed, of course."

He smiled again, this time it seemed brighter,

"Awesome. I really hope you can."

The clock ran to zero and the buzzer went off as the first half had come to an end and we were about to start our show.

From the front row drum section, I could hear Torie's cousin Frank (the lead snare) call out,

"BAAAAAAND! TEN-HUT, TEN-HUT!"

For me, the field show was almost as flawless as marching down. I had my mind on the night planned ahead of me, if I was going with Kyle or not. If I should tell Jake about this or not. If I would be allowed to tell. (I knew that if I would ask my dad, it would be a no, if I asked my mom, it would be a yes. My mom trusted John, because she knew that he lived right down the street from us forever, and that he was the superintendent's son.)

I ran to Kirstie straight after and told her about this. I asked her what I should do and she told me to go with my gut instinct.

It wasn't until 4th quarter started that things went haywire.

I was sitting next to Jake when he put up this really puzzling look on his face.

"So what's this I hear about you liking Kyle?"

"Wh-What!" I stutter, about ready to freak out

He nods solemnly and looks away.

I look over at my friends sitting beside me.

Someone had betrayed me, and I knew they knew it.

Jessica. Why am I not surprised?

"Jess…" I quietly ask, "Why'd you do that? I don't even know if I like him."

"Well, either way, he deserved to know. Besides, he likes someone else, too."

My jaw nearly dropped to the ground. I didn't even know if I liked Kyle or if I just liked flirting with him, but he fully likes some other girl.

My neck nearly snapped off as I spun my head in his direction.

"Who may that girl be?"

He smiles, kind of sheepishly, and then points.

Cara.

Also known as 'Torie's older sister' who he was talking to earlier.

I should've caught on, I saw when he was taking glimpses of her earlier, but I didn't pay any attention.

I just cracked a smile, and said,

"Cool."

Jake seemed to relax more, and I knew that he thought I was perfectly okay with it.

He looked over at me and said,

"Sorry, but, I mean… you're pretty and all…but just look at her!"

I was totally taken aback and hurt at the same time.

I didn't understand it at all. I was going out with him, and he had a crush on someone else… and I don't even know if I liked someone else too.

That's not how being boyfriend and girlfriend is supposed to work.

And that's why, at the end of last quarter, after we played Notre Dame with the tag ending, I discussed with Alexis the possibilities of breaking up with him.

It wasn't just because of the whole other crushes situation; it also was because of the other things I had caught him doing too. For instance, he would call another girl hot; he missed my birthday party to go drinking with his cousins (who were also underage. How stupid.), and I found out two days earlier that he smoked. These were things I never even realized about him at band camp, when we became really close.

I was asking Alexis what I should do, and also that I really want to go to truck world with Kyle and his friends. Little did I know, there was one of my old enemies listening in…

Anyways. There were only two busses for our departure back to the high school, so there had to have been at least a hundred kids jammed onto the bus. It was pure chaos when the drummers started singing the alma mater like they were drunk and we screamed the bus driver chant and senior/junior/sophomore rah's (the freshman rah got booed every time, so we didn't even bother with it after a while).

After our short ride had ended, I hopped off the bus and ran into the school to put my instrument and uniform away. I already had people asking me "are you breaking up with Jake?" and I didn't even know my answer to that. I called my dad to ask if I could go out, but he told me I would have to ask my mom, who was already at the school.

I walked outside, and Zack, Kyle's friend, told me that he had to go and get his mom's car to take us, so he'd be right back. I wound up running into my mother, who was talking to a few other mothers, (one of the _enemy_'s … but I'll get to that later.)

I asked my mother, and without hesitation she said yes. She handed me ten dollars, and told me to be back at a reasonable time (in her perspective, it was 11:30).

I walk back to where Zack was standing and Kaitlyn was standing next to him, with her boyfriend (who is also a senior, and Kyle's best friend), Andy.

She mouthed the words 'I'm coming too!' before she went back to being all over him.

We waited for a few minutes until Kyle came with his car, and while Zack and his one friend who they called Ollie were jammed into the back, Kyle made sure I rode shot gun.

I sat there, nervous and thinking the most craziest thoughts.

I knew that I had a boyfriend, and this kid was totally off limits, but it didn't seem fair that I had to totally cross him off my list. Besides, Jake liked Torie's older sister, anyways.

So, who says I can't enjoy the night?

**So, what did you think? love it? hate it? Wanna know what happens next? Review and tell me!**


	6. rollercoaster of emotions

**:) I love myy reviewers  
sorry it took SOO long to update.  
i've been super busy in school  
(and homecoming was last nite.)  
thanks for your reviews  
and here's Chapter 5!  
**

_IF you would have asked me 2 weeks ago what I was doing Friday night after the football game, I would have probably responded with nothing. Yet, this Friday was seemingly different. _

As soon as I stepped into 'truck world', a small smile had formed on my face. I couldn't believe that we were here, of all places. I was actually invited, not tagging along or begging. The last time I had actually hung out with just seniors outside of school was … I don't even know. But I guarantee it wasn't these kids.

We sat down at the table, Kyle sat at the end of the table, and I sat to his left.

Kaitlyn and I didn't want a thing to order, all we got was water. I was way too nervous to eat.

Kyle was acting totally normal, around some kids I didn't even know. He was including me into conversations, and it didn't seem as awkward. Kaitlyn and I mouthed conversations across the table. I knew that she wasn't comfortable with the scenery, and I wanted to change that. I dismissed us both and we walked to the bathroom.

"Okay, Kait, what's up with you?"

It took her a while to respond, but finally she came up with the answer,

"I…I think that Andy is gonna break up with me."

Inwardly, I rolled my eyes. I didn't see any way that was possible.

"Okay, I don't think so."

"I haven't been talking at all. Being around the senior guys is weird. I don't want to say anything that will make them think badly of me, but then again, if I don't say something, they'll think that I'm a mute."

"You won't say anything wrong. Trust me, you're Kaitlyn. Another thing. Andy picked you, not his friends."

She smiles back at me, knowing I was right.

We stand and talk for a while, and then she takes something out of her pocket.

"Gummy worm?"

We stood and ate the pack, saying how it would be weird if we did it around everyone else. Finally, we got enough courage to venture back to the table.

We sat back down and Andy immediately had his arms back around Kaitlyn. I mouthed an, 'I told you so' to her as she guiltily smiles back.

While I was making small talk, Kyle did something kind of weird. His hand was on my leg, and he was like… stroking it. (My eyes were extremely wide. Kaitlyn saw.)

Soon enough, it was close to eleven-thirty, and Kyle was taking Kaitlyn and me home.

Andy and Kait kissed for a little bit, and we piled into the car.

Unexpectedly, Kaitlyn burst with energy, talking 1000 words per minute.

Kyle looked at me and asked,

"Is she like this all the time?"

I just nodded to confirm it, as Kaitlyn went on talking about something Andy said to her.

Soon enough, after blaring old rock and roll songs, Kaitlyn was dropped off.

As Kyle drove up the street, near our school, he lowered the volume down to nothing, and we talked.

Just us; no one else.

"I think that you and Jake are like a bad couple right now. He likes Cara, and you like me."

I was kind of taken aback by this; I had no clue how he found out that I liked him, let alone Jake liking Cara.

We talked about how Gretchen hated him, and how he and Lanie are on good terms.

He pulled into my driveway, and tells me that he had fun tonight.

"Igottagothanksforinvitingmethatwasfunbye!" I said as I bolted from the car to my door. It was sort of like I wanted him to kiss me, but I respected my boundaries.

Jake and I were still going out…

Or so I thought.

I get online, (Myspace, of course.) and see that on my top eight, Jake's profile is all changed to single and 'I hate life'.

Not even five minutes after that, Jessica calls me. First asking me full details about the night, and then reeling me out for breaking up with Jake.

I told her that I didn't even know that I did, but it was sort of expected. Then she defended his side.

I get a call five seconds later, from Jake.

"I heard the whole thing. Oh, the magic of 3-Way calling."

I didn't even know what to say. I was upset, I didn't even break up with him myself, someone went and told him that.

"Once I heard Alexis and Ben talking about it, I knew it was true."

Oh, when I get my hands on them …

He was upset. I was upset. We were broken up. I didn't know what else I could do to help.

My mother yelled at me for being on the phone, and Jake hung up without a goodbye.

It wasn't anything I wanted our break up to ever be.

After screaming at Alexis, and finding out that it was really Ben's fault, I headed up to bed, tired, confused in one way, partially glad in another.

* * *

**A/N : Sorry this chapter is so short. its just basic run-down what happened. its kinda major, so i had to include it. read and review, the next chapter will be up as soon as you want it to be!  
**


	7. Beauty in Breakdowns

**A/N: wow guys, im reallllly sorry. I haven't updated forever. im sooo sorry... i've been really busy with school and stuff... plus our football team went to the playoffs, which ment that we were in marching band for two weeks more than we had to.  
the season's finally over now, so whenevr i dont have that much homework, i'll be sure to be writing more of this story.  
oh yea... a HUGE THANKS to alll of my reviewers. i coulda never continued without ya.  
one last thing... in chapter 5, i made a mistake of mixing a band night with a football game. i'm just going to leave it as a football game, b/c it would make more sense.  
now on with the story!**

* * *

It was only a week later for everything to settle me down.

My parents were downstairs arguing about something pointless, and I had came to realize that it was. It was my first day of being single since band camp. It was Friday, our second football game.

I wearily started my day jumping in and out of the shower, straightening my ragged hair, and putting a little makeup on to cover up the circles underneath my eyes.

I jumped downstairs, avoiding my parents in the kitchen bickering.

School was normal, I was already used to my freshman classes after the first week. I wasn't late once, and I didn't get lost.

I came home; I was in a difficult mood. I kept seeing Jake around the school, and I would always turn my head.

I walked into my room, set the mood with my 'Spill Canvas' CD, and got online.

Immediately, Kaitlyn ims me

BangAdrummer41: hey. You seem to be distant lately. We haven't talked at all in this past week. I have to ask because you never did tell. What happened after I got outta the car last Friday?

Lizbabii10: weirdness.

BangAdrummer41: explain

Lizbabii10: umm. Well. Kyle and I talked about a lot of stuff. I practically jumped out of the car when he dropped me off. No hug or anything.

BangAdrummer41: oh, because you and Jake are going out, you don't want it to be weird, right?

Lizbabii10: were.

BangAdrummer41: what?

Lizbabii10: we broke up.

BangAdrummer41: woahh. I'm so sorry. How did this happen?

Lizbabii10: well. After I got home from then, Jess called me. And it was involuntary 3way. Meaning Jake was listening to me gush about Kyle. Then I was told about how Ben went and told Jake that we were breaking up. It was horrible. I didn't want to break up with him, but it was kind of already set in place.

BangAdrummer41: Aww. I'm sorry. I went home and cried too. I never know what to say when I'm around all of Andy's friends.

BangAdrummer41: I think that one day he's like gonna break up with me over it.

Lizbabii10: yeah rite. I doubt it extremely.

BangAdrummer41: idk. It seems it all the time. It scares me because I like him so much.

Lizbabii10: mmk. Neways, im gonna go. Band in a few hours!

BangAdrummer41: lol

Lizbabii10 signed off at 3:25

For the rest of the day I sat around. My brother had as much ignorance to ask me if I was depressed.

I almost bit his head off and growled at him to get me a bag of sour patch kids when he went to the store.

Messed up? I'd say just a little bit.

I couldn't help it. I still cared for Jake a lot. I had thought of breaking up with him, but I didn't wanna go through with it.

He liked Cara, anyway. Like I mattered anymore.

I went through this deep feeling of confusion; I couldn't tell if I was happy or sad.

I went through half a bag of sour patch kids when I realized that I needed to get ready for band.

I pulled on the regular blue band tee and fixed my hair back up into the regular ponytail.

My makeup, though, was a different story.

I could care less as I left my mascara smeared from crying earlier.

As I walked downstairs with my band hat in hand, my brother was muttering about how I looked like a wreck. I growled at him and he backed off again.

On the ride to the high school, I kept getting asked about what was wrong with me, but I resorted in turning up the radio louder and louder.

When finally arriving, the car was blasting Blue October's 'Hate Me'.

So ironic; right?

It seemed normal for me to roam the halls, seeing as it was 20 minutes before getting ready.

Andy and Kyle were sitting in the hall near the band lockers eating Chinese food.

I sat down next to Kyle with out saying a word. He looked over, about to offer me some of his dinner, and stopped.

"Elizabeth, what's wrong?" he gives me a hug, sensing something immediately.

I shook my head and didn't answer.

The expression on his face looked helpless and sympathetic at the same time.

Not even two seconds later, Andy leans over and asks,

"Are you and Jake still going out?"

I was thinking in my head, 'wow. These kids in this school are really late when it comes to some things. It's already been a week since.'

I pull my knees to my chest and look the other way, as I shook my head, no.

I could hear the shock in the hallway as a stray tear fell down my face.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, Liz." He takes me in his arms as a few more tears fall.

Andy looks over at Kyle and says, "Darn it. We so could've went to the Bentley House if we'd known this earlier."

I laugh inwardly. The Bentley House was a banquet hall that Andy and Kyle take girls to make out at. Jessica and Kaitlyn had told me all about it.

Kyle rolls his eyes, looks at me sensitively, and says,

"Where is he? I'm gonna go and kick his ass for hurting you like this."

I put on a watery smile, and say that he can't. It was half my fault too.

All of a sudden, Cara walks down the hall to me and tells me that we have to talk.

I follow her as we sit in the main hallway and talk.

"First off, you really should lay off of Kyle. He's a bad kid. I liked him once too. That only ended up being heartbreak." She starts. I roll my eyes at this, "Secondly, I kind of got the vibe that Jake liked me. Trust me, there's too much of an age difference. I went out with a sophomore over the summer and my parents the age difference was too much. He would be better off with my sister. Plus, I could never do that to you after seeing you like this. Are you sure you're okay?"

I nod my head, but I was thinking differently. I figured that Jake could get whatever he wanted, because he's just one of those kind of kids.

She gave me a hug to assure her sincerity.

I rolled my eyes once I walked away.

I grab my uniform from the band closet, and get interrupted by Trent, one of Kyle's friends' little brother.

"Hi, little princess."

"What did you just call me?"

"You were Kyle's little princess when he took you home from truck world."

I laugh and say "whatever," and head back to the instrument room.

All I wanted was this night to be over already.

As I walked back to grab my clarinet, I passed Jake.

His face showed no emotion as he walked away from me, calling out for Cara.

I cringed and walked away, toward the commotion filling the band room.

I didn't say a word, just sat, clarinet in one hand, head in other.

"What's got you so down?" a voice appears next to me.

I turned to see Zack standing in front of me.

I smile for about a second, but it turns back to a frown as I tell him,

"Jake and I broke up. I don't think I'm over it."

"Wow, Liz. I'm so sorry. What happened?"

"Well. Misinterpretation and liking other people."

He nodded as if he understood, and gave me a hug for good measure.

"You'd better get ready, we're marching down in a few minutes"

Zack says before he walks away.

I hurriedly rush to button the already hard to button uniform and switch my overlay from our school name to the plain blue side as everyone around me rushes to do the same.

Before piling out, we repeat the creed, which gets everyone fired up.

Marching down to the field was fairly easy; as I had done it so many nights, it was practically uniform.

Jessica and Kaitlyn decided to sit up near the top row of senior guys, just so Andy could kill two birds with one stone when he had breaks from drumming. Jessica wanted to sit up there and flirt with the first person she laid eyes on.

I sat down, in front of Kyle, with Jessica and Kaitlyn next to me.

I keep glancing to my right, where bleachers below where Jake and Cara sat.

It wasn't until the scoreboard read 3:16 in the first half, Kyle caught on.

He took me from behind and whirled me around.

"It's only gonna hurt more if you keep staring."

I nodded, and my head sunk down to my chest.

Again, he hugged me close.

"Listen," he said, "I know this must hurt. Really bad, especially if you didn't expect nor want it to happen. Things like this happen lots, but think that you're really strong. You can pull through. And really, so many guys would've killed to be in his position before last night just to be with you."

I was really amazed at what he said. I wanted to hug him forever just to be in his arms.

Half time came quickly, and in a flash, it was over.

My mind spun, though, watching Jake give Cara a hug before 'heads down' was called.

I walked back to my seat quickly, Kyle was already there and he nodded his head in my direction.

"Well? How'd you do?"

I shrugged my shoulders in response, because I practically was a robot when it came to marching nowadays. It was automatic on field.

The directors called 3rd quarter break, leaving us stuck in line for food the whole quarter. I basically gave up on the line, and stood to just talk to Jessica and Kaitlyn, and a random kid named Joey. He always was trying to flirt with me, and he's Kaitlyn's friend.

Looking around for others to talk to, I saw Kyle flirting intensely with a majorette.

"Who is she?" I asked indirectly.

I knew I had seen her before, but I couldn't quite place it.

Yes, majorettes have traveled with the band for everything; yet, I had seen her before band had started.

"Her name is Megan Litz. She's a sophmore."

I nod my head, trying to understand.

Then it hits me.

"Oh my. I _know_ her. She's Daniel's cousin."

Jessica's eyes widen as Kaitlyn gasps.

Daniel was a kid who plays symbols… what a sucky thing to play in band. that I had a short fling with over the summer, until I realized he wasn't worth it.

I continue to flick my eyes in the general direction to try to make my mind actually believe that she was really Megan.

I had actually talked to her several times before… but I wasn't going to barge over into Kyle's conversation to get attention.

I'm not that obsessive.

I put on a smile, rolled my eyes, and told Kait and Jess that I was going back to the stands.

"Liz! Heyy!"

It was too late; Megan had already identified me from the huge crowd.

I cringed as I walked over, and I put on a brave face.

"Hey Megan! I haven't talked to you in a while."

"Liz," she says as she hugs me, "I missed hanging out with you in the beginning of the summer."

Kyle shoots a quizzical look back and forth between us, but his eyes tempted to stay locked with Megan's.

"Liz and I hung out a lot when she was going out with my little cousin. But we haven't really talked much ever since they broke up." Megan interpreted for him to understand.

"Oh. That explains a lot."

"Well. I'm heading back to the stands. See ya around?"

Megan nods and gives me another hug.

Kyle just mumbles a 'uh-huh.' Without taking his gaze from Megan.

I sat back down, thinking of how I was getting a bad vibe from being near Megan and Kyle together.

Jessica and Kaitlyn came and sat next to me and asked what had happened.

I told them that I found out that Kyle was really into Megan.

They looked over at me sympathetically.

"Sorry, Liz," Jessica brought up, "I hate to say it, but I told you so."

I nod as Kaitlyn starts arguing the point that Kyle may just like to flirt with her, and that he could like more than one girl.

As they both sat, yelling about him, their conversation abruptly stopped as he walked up the bleacher steps.

"So, Liz. Is your night any better?"

"Yeah; its just absolutely wonderful." I say sarcastically

"Oh, that's good." He says, not realizing that I was being cynical

He turns to his left and starts talking to Zack, about what else. Megan.

I held through the rest of the game and the bus ride home.

I got back to the band room and started packing up my instrument when Torie ran up to me.

"Umm, Liz. There's something I think you should know about.

"Okay." I said, suddenly afraid to know.

"My sister and Jake are going out." She tells me, as I walk to put everything away.

I stop.

"WHAT?!"

She nods her head, biting her lip.

"No. They _can't_ be."

"I'm sorry Liz. Trust me, I'm not happy about it either."

"NO!" I shouted and I stopped at the band lockers and slid down the wall.

I sat and cried until Kyle, Andy, Zack, Jessica, and Kaitlyn all came over to me to calm me down.

"Liz. Come on. He's not worth your time." Jessica tried telling me, hoisting me up off the ground.

I shook my head.

I didn't want anything right now; I just wanted to cry.

I kept my eyes to the floor, and I didn't want to look at any of them.

Kyle tilted my head up, and told me,

"Listen, if he hurt you this bad, the guy isn't worth it."

I agreed and walked out to my ride home.

I wanted to scream, but I knew I had to deal, especially with the fact that we were marching the following afternoon for a college football game.

* * *

**Wow. My longest chapter yet.  
Kyle seems to be such a sweet kid... right?  
Well. we'll see if that changes anytime soon.  
Besides, the next few chapters are where it gets really interesting  
-All reviews are welcome!  
**


	8. Up Against Hope

**A/N Wow. I now realize that its been about forever that I haven't updated. I'm soo sorry about it.  
Everything's just gotten chaotic.  
But dont think I've even came close to forgeting about it,  
or all of my reviewers who i LOVE  
I hope you enjoy this chapter **

* * *

The next day was a Saturday, a normal day to sleep in until late afternoon. 

This, of course, was disrupted with the three million phone calls I received, starting at eight AM.

"Oh my gosh! Liz! I heard about last night! What a jerk! I can't believe that he did that to you! What happened?" I had heard it all by 9:30.

I had disconnected my phone from my room, turned off my cell phone, and left my family to deal with the rest of the phones. I was invisible on AIM, and just wanted to be cut off from everything.

This, of course, was not a factor, for I would be with the entire band from 11 to 6.

Stupid college football games.

It took me about an hour to get ready, so I was given an extra half-hour at the school to hang out.

Oh goody. This of course was not my choice, but since my parents were more than happy to get rid of me, I was up at the school.

I walked from the instrument room and band closets to the band room without making a sound.

Three boys down the hall are playing with light sabers. Making it seem like its really dramatic.

I hear a "catch up with you guys later," and see a tall figure walking towards me.

He gives me a sad smile, noticing how down I am about the whole thing.

"Come here. Give me a hug." Kyle orders, and I collapse in his arms.

"He's going out with Cara! Only a day after we broke up! How can you do that? She told me that she wasn't even ever going to go out with him! She LIED to me. She promised!"

"Shh, Liz. It's okay. I'm here."

We just stood there. Me, crying my eyes out, and he was holding me through it.

Once I calmed down, I told Kyle,

"Please, Ky. Stop. You must think I'm such a crybaby after all of this."

He looks up at me and smiles lightly, and says, "No. I just think you're heart needs to be healed."

"Listen," he continues, "Don't think about them. He's stupid to not care about losing a girl like you."

"Yeah right. There's nothing to lose. I'm nothing."

He just pulls me closer, looks into my eyes and says, "You aren't nothing to me."

At that point, I think everything that was wrong dropped from my head.

Throughout the whole bus ride, I couldn't stop being happy.

Trent, though, seemed pretty bored with it.

He was a kid who was plain, wished to be cool, and liked me.

Perfect, right?

Oh well. He's still my friend anyways.

Practice came first, then lunch at either Taco Bell or McDonalds. Then back to the stands, until our halftime show.

Practice came first.

Squad leader was yelling impatiently when timid freshmore in our line was off step.

The sun was extremely hot; I couldn't wait for practice to end.

Kaitlyn, Jessica, Torie, Kirstie and I decided to walk to Taco Bell, because there seemed to be more kids walking to McDonalds.

Yeah, everyone else thought of that, too. We had to wait in the longest line to order, and even wait to get a table.

After being done with lunch, I looked over to find familiar freshman faces.

I looked back, to the corner by the window, and I see Alexis.

I walk over and start to talk to her.

"Uhh, thanks for interrupting."

Why does he always show up?

Alexis raised an eyebrow in Kyle's general direction, and asked,

"Do you want me to tell her?"

"NO! I mean, uh, no."

His face turned into a face of worry, while mine changed to confusion and curiosity.

"What? About me?"

Kyle whispers something in her ear, and she stiffens.

Then he says, "see ya" to me, and mouths something to her.

"Alexis?" I ask as she turns away, "What was that all about?"

She stifles a smile and brushes me off, as we walk back to the stadium.

In just our nature to goof off on our way back.

The general view of getting back into our stadium seats was usual, yet, from the darkening clouds above, there was a significant chance of rain.

I was originally planning to sit next to Zack and Kyle, but Trent stole the one seat, and Kirstie took the other.

Occasionally, I would peek over to Kyle, who was sitting and flirting with Megan yet again.

Majorettes. Got to hate them. Speaking of which, Kyle is taking the head majorette to homecoming.

We just sit and watch the game, suffering from the heat, when a voice breaks the silence.

"Hey, uh, Liz?" Trenton stammers, looking over at me nervously

"Yes?"

"Uh, will you, uh. Go to homecoming with me? As friends!"

"Sure. It'll be fun"

And the game played on. Normal events.

Halftime rolled around, and I went up with Kirstie to find food at the concession stand.

By the time I reached the front of the line, the concession stand was half sold out.

I bought cotton candy, and was walking around, trying to find where anyone had wandered off.

"Liz is a big dork face!"

Well, of course. It just _had_ to be him.

Megan was most definitely with him.

"Ooh! Cotton Candy! Yummy." He snatches the bag out of my hand and grabs a fistful.

Shoving some in his mouth, a peculiar look on his face sets in.

"Dude. It tastes like piña colada!"

I grab the bag back, and look at its label

'**Specialty Tastes Cotton Candy.' Flavors include: Bubble Gum, Yellow Cake Batter, Cherry Cheesecake, and Piña Colada.' **

Obviously.

Then, go figure, about ten more people start begging for it.

Kyle takes most of it and shoves it into Megan's mouth.

I wince, but shrug it off.

She laughs, and wraps her arms around him.

I roll my eyes and almost walk off.

"Wait!"

I swivel around, and give Megan a curious look.

"Can I talk to you?"

Taken aback, I nod slowly.

She grabs my arm and pulls me away from the non-observant Kyle.

"Listen. I know you like him. I see it in your eyes."

"Um, I…don't know what you're talking about?"

She rolls her eyes. "Don't play stupid with me, Elizabeth. You like Kyle"

"I…uhh," I stutter, then look into Megan's face. "Fine. I like him"

She smiled. And breathed, what I am leaded to believe, a sigh of relief.

"Thank god!"

I shot her a confused look.

"Excuse me? I thought you liked him?"

And right there, in public, she starts howling with laughter.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me. I just got over my best friend's boyfriend. Do you seriously think I want to fall for my best and only guy friend I have? Yeah right!"

Now it was my turn to breath a sigh of relief.

"Wow. You really had me fooled there."

"Now, our only plot is to make him fall in love with you."

My eyes widen as I pull her in attempt to not let her walk away.

"No, no, and no. He already knows I like him. How much weirder do you want to make it?"

"Well. He keeps flirting with me. It's driving me insane. He needs a distraction."

"Figure out your own solution. Because, for sure, its not gonna be me."

I walked away, leaving her complaining silently as she walked back over to Kyle.

I walked back to my seat, with a mix of happiness and hollowness.

I was at peace to know that Megan didn't like Kyle, but the opposite was definitely something that made me unsure.

Rain.

I looked up, and the once completely cloudless sky was growing gray and cloudy.

Ohhhh. This is why our band directors ordered our complaining asses to grab raincoats?

How do they do it?

Kirstie turns over, starts to talk to me about soccer and the boys' game that evening.

Sooner than we know it, our director is telling us to put raincoats on, and to head down to the goal line.

Our hats on our heads and lining up to position I look up at the sky in a few final minutes before halftime.

Drop!

Straight in the eye.

And a few more. And more after that.

The clarinets and flutes started screeching, complaining that if the rain would get harder, our director would be paying for 32 clarinets and flutes to get pads and such fixed.

Our band president kept walking by, shaking his head in mock remorse, waiting to get the show over with.

-

Our performance was sloppy.

Even being a freshman, I could detect that.

The lines weren't too visible in the pouring rain, so our fast breaks and pinwheels were messy and disorganized. I don't think that the crowd really cared; majority of the band parents were anxiously waiting for their son/daughters to finish their performance, so they could scurry off into their cars and drive home.

Soon enough, it was over. And waiting for the college band to finish their performance was crazy. Making a 210-student band wait quietly in an end zone in the pouring rain? Yeah, right.

What good could come of this? Nothing.

Mud. More mud. Band pants, especially, were muddied from the knee down.

As we rushed back from on field, we shortly were escorted back on our buses, taken headcount, and on our way back to the high school, even though there were still two more quarters to go.

The kids of mud were hyper, and as we traveled back, sure enough. The skies cleared up.

"YES!" I could hear a few boys in the back of the bus exclaim, "Perfect muddy soccer weather!"

I rolled my eyes, but I was sure that everyone else was thinking the same thing.

Our town is known for many things, but sports are the majority of everything.

Volleyball, Basketball, Football & Soccer; mainly those sports. Of course, there isn't too bad of turnouts for baseball, swim team, and bowling. But still, it was mainly those interests.

Each year, we dominate for our athletic conference with good records on our plates, for boys and girls.

It's pretty much a big deal if you miss one of the games, or else you probably would be stuck at home, with no one to hang out with at all.

I hear a faint ring, and I pull my cell phone and answer.

"So, you are going to the game tonight, if there isn't gonna be anymore rain, right?"

"Kirstie; of course I wouldn't miss this game. Brendan is playing, and I know that you're just going to sit there and gaze in his direction."

I could hear her smile over the phone. I told her that in a few minutes, we would be back at the high school, go to the pizza shop and hang out for a little bit, then walk back to the field for the game.

Sure enough, we arrived back, and Trenton and Kaitlyn agreed to come along.

Across the street from our school was a "Little Toni's Pizzeria."

Occasionally, we came after school to hang out, because for a little town like ours, there wasn't much to do.

Stepping into the pizzeria, it seemed as if we were the only to arrive. We all sat in a booth; Kaitlyn & Kirstie, with Trenton next to me.

We talked and ate. The normal.

Soon enough, it was almost game time.

By then, the whole pizzeria was packed with students.

JV was playing first, and we couldn't manage to miss them.

Cold as it was, all of us were shivering outside on the bleachers as our JV team dominated the rival.

The game played on and on. We were the only freshman, though. We sat next to a few sophomores, but mainly juniors and seniors.

I knew most of them, and the ones I didn't, I made friends with.

Kaitlyn was rambling on and on about how he saw Kyle talking to one of the major freshman cheerleaders, Chloe Tarott. Exchanging phone numbers with her.

I shrugged it off. Talk is cheap, I thought.

"Guess Who?"

Cold, big hands covered my eyes.

"Ohh, would it be Kyle?"

"Ehh! Wrong!"

"Oh. Who then?"

"It would be the greatest, awesome, nicest, senior ever in the whole entire world by the name of Kyle Anthony Kensinger."

I turned around and playfully hit him.

"You are so conceited."

He shrugs his shoulders in a way to say, 'so?'

I laughed as he jumped up and sat behind me, with Andy who started making out immediately with Kaitlyn.

We just sat for a while, and he started talking to my sister's one friend, Olivia.

"So, Kyle, what's going on in your life lately?"

"Haha. So many chicks, so little time."

I pretended to not listen in to the following, but I just happened to.

"Oh, really now?" Olivia said, surprised.

"Well. I've got three girls in mind," he lowered his voice a bit, and started talking, "the first girl, well, she and I really got along well. The one day I took her up to the cottage my family has by the lake. And it was so sweet, we both confessed our feelings for eachother. But, it really sucked, because it ends up that she's starting college and she doesn't want to have a relationship. The second girl, well. I've liked her for some time. She's really sweet, and she's one of my best friends. I don't know though. Because, she keeps dropping hints and stuff on why she doesn't want a boyfriend currently because of her last relationship. The last girl, well. I've just gotten to know her, and we, like exchanged phone numbers and stuff. I don't know. She's really cool, but I like her, and I don't know if she likes me. It's so hard to read girls sometimes."

I felt like my heart sank to my toes.

I didn't care who the first girl was. But…the other two; Megan and Chloe.

Not me.

It kept playing in my mind, over and over.

It's not me, it's not me, it's not me.

I just sat there.

Disappointed, you could say.

"So you like Megan and Chloe?"

His eyes widen, and he puts his hand over my mouth

"Shh! I don't want the world to know!"

I roll my eyes, "I could help you out here. I could see if they like you."

"No. I want to do this my way, okay?"

"Okay." I say, helpless.

I look to my right, and see Kaitlyn, Kirstie, Andy, and Trenton, all laughing and cheering.

Atleast they were having a good time.

* * *

**Finished. Finally. It took great strength to finish offa writers block.**

**FYI: Next Chapter is where things get extremely chaotic. **

**I LOVE my reviewers **


	9. Heartbreak in an Instant

**Wow guys. You dont know how sorry i am for not keeping this up to date.. you know. busy schedule. i love you all for reading this. passes out cookies yay chapter 8!**

* * *

Thursday. It was the day before Friday and the day after Wednesday. For me it was more of preparing myself. It didn't feel right anymore, being there to witness whom I fell hard for, for them to be crushing over someone else. I would always look forward to band, where I could hang out with him and flirt like normal. I just didn't see how it would be the same, with my conscious would keep telling me that he doesn't care.

Normal classes, normal people, normal drama.

Except for me. I basically was blanking out, like a zombie.

People kept asking what was wrong with me, was I tired, why wasn't I paying attention.

I told them all that I was fine, just tired from a long night.

They had no second thoughts about it.

I was completely lifeless.

That is, until 4th mod rolled around.

Band.

Today was a Monday, which either meant evaluation on our previous show, or new music for a new layout to be learned.

Our director told us that we had a good performance despite the rain, and our halftime show on Friday was a bit sloppy though.

So, he was giving us the day off, because we were playing the same show on this Friday.

Free period, was unlike a study hall.

It was supposed to be used for homework, but instead, it was an excuse to talk and hang out.

"ELIZABETH!"

Kyle shouts my name across the room; I jump about five feet into the air as I walk over.

"How are ya doing, kiddo?" He says, giving me a hug.

I just nod, nonchalantly.

I see Zack and the rest of the crew hanging back in their chairs.

Zack keeps messing around with a rubber band, and I snatch it off of him and pull it around my wrist.

"NO!" Zack yells and goes to pull it, as if he was actually gonna snap it.

I roll my eyes, and tell him, "Go ahead. Snap it. Do I care?"

His eyes widen a little bit, and he backs off and sits down.

I get annoyed at this.

"Look!"

I pull out the rubber band as far away from me as it can be, and I snap it.

"DUDE!" "Owww!" "What the HECK?" are some shocked responses from these senior guys.

Kyle looks at me softly, and asks, "Liz, what's wrong? Doesn't that hurt?"

"No. I have a high tolerance for pain."

His face winces slightly, and cautiously says, "Okay, I guess that some physical pain can be good."

In the mean time, Zack is yelling, pulling on the rubber band and attempting to break it, but I was pulling away from him, ready to punch him in the face. As he keeps attempting to steal it, I keep snapping.

Before I realize it, my wrist is stinging and sore in pain, tears are threatening to escape from my eyes, and Zack is hugging me close, telling me everything will be okay.

I didn't even understand the hidden logic behind it.

I didn't cry, I semi-pushed Zack away, rubbing my wrist telling me I was okay.

I could see Kyle peering over at my wrist.

The day went on. I kept my wrist hidden and everything was boring and plain.

Then there was science.

We were working in the lab.

Kirstie is in the same science class, going on and on about Torie talking online to someone, but I wasn't really paying attention.

Until, of course, she mentioned that Torie talked to him about me.

I get taken aback. "Whom in the world are you talking about?"

She rolls her eyes, silently scolding me for not listening to her gossiping.

"Kyle, duh."

I bit my lip, sensing that this could end up being bad.

"Do you want to hear what he said?"

I look over, and her face has changed expressions, from happy, loud and anxious, to subtle, quiet and pity. It pretty much scares me.

"Tell me." My voice croaks out, afraid of what she would say.

She pauses for a second, then tells, "Well. Torie was talking to Kyle about you I guess. And, she asked if he liked you. And. He said that he just likes to mess around with you. He knows you like him and he's trying to be nice."

"Oh." Was all I could say. I couldn't make any other words form to spill out of my mouth.

Then came Friday. Seeing Kyle in the hall between second mod and third, he stopped in front of me, ready to hug him, but I brushed him off.

"I need to talk to you later, okay?"

Confused, he nods. He still stands, anticipating accepting a hug, but I walked past.

I sit through Spanish on edge, replaying in my mind what I'm going to say to him, and thinking of possible ways for him to react.

Lunch was lunch, the mod after and Spanish. I didn't eat. Just sat there with a dazed look on my face.

"Liz!" Kaitlyn screeches, poking my lifeless face with a french fry, "what the heck is wrong with you?"

"Huh?" I ask blankly, as my head snaps back into reality.

"You've been so outta it lately. All because of stupid guys."

I shrugged, and then went back to counting the seconds down to leave.

Finally, the bell rang, and I jumped up about 3 feet, and jolted down the hall to band.

I stopped abruptly at the instrument room, despite all the confused faces.

I calmed myself down for a few minutes, and then heard his voice approaching.

Leaning out from the doorway into the hallway, I quickly dragged his arm,

Mumbling that I said I needed to talk to him, I pulled him to the corner of the room.

"So. What's this all about?" He asked, taking it into suspicion.

"Um. Well. Toriesaidyoutoldherthatyouonlywerenicetomebecauseilikeyou." I say in a rush.

He sighs and shakes his head, looks down at me sadly, and says,

"_I'm sorry Elizabeth. I just don't like you like that._"

Then and there, I thought I was going to fall to the floor.

He wraps his arms around me into a hug, but I didn't even hug back.

Everything just started collapsing around me.

I sat there, throughout band. I sat through the rest of the school day, without voluntarily saying a word.

But of course. This is band. This is Friday.

Which ultimately means football game.

I become terrified before leaving.

I probably could've stalled, but seeing as my brother wanted to drop me off at the school, before going to work, I was unquestionably early.

Sitting in the hallway with my head in my hands, I felt miserable.

It showed I didn't know what I was doing, who I was. I can't help what my heart wants, but I surely hated the fact that it broke right in front of me.

I knew that I was a hopeless cause, who fell for this kid who couldn't even return the feelings.

"Elizabeth?" a soft voice from behind me speaks.

"Yes, Zack?"

"Don't cry over him. It's wrong to cry over a guy. Don't let your emotions get the best of you."

"I'm trying to not. It's just… hard. I fell for him, too much. It drives me crazy to know that I've been trying to do so much for it, when it's worth nothing."

"He led you on, Liz. It's wrong. He shouldn't."

"Its not his fault. Its mine."

"Stop! Don't blame yourself."

He then takes me into his arms, and gives me a long hug.

I can tell how much he cares, as he kisses my head to let me know he's there for me.

We board the busses, as I sit and everyone talks and enjoys the world around, I sit.

Listen to my mp3 player, playing depressing emo/screamo songs, to drown out everything.

We get there. And walk up the stands to sit.

As for me, I'm special. I sit near the seniors, always. The top row of stands is always reserved for them, and I sit a row down, so I could turn around and talk with them.

I sat down, talking to Zack, but who sits directly behind me?

Kyle Kensinger.

I inwardly groaned, exasperated with the fact I would have to deal with him the rest of the game.

I look to my left, where Danny Jones was sitting, talking to a couple freshman, and Andy and Kaitlyn were talking intensely, also.

"Elizabeth?"

"Kyle?" I say, mocking him, without turning.

"I know you're mad at me. You have every single right to be. I'm sorry."

I take a deep sigh and turn.

He gives me this sad look, and it's basically like I have to give in.

"It's alright. It just hurt."

He nods, and gives me a huge hug.

At least this time, after then, I can look up into his eyes again.

As tradition, every football game, the boys in the back few rows spit sunflower seeds, sometimes shooting at certain people.

The two boys from ahead of me, Lyell and Gary, turn around and hand me some.

"We're gonna teach you how to spit seeds perfectly."

For the rest of the night, it was back to normal.

It ended up that Kyle started to go back to flirting with me, and I realize I'm horrible to resist.

I became the best sunflower seed spitter. Ever single guy within the three top rows of the bleachers were cheering me on, and proud. I was one of their better ones.

"Tomorrow," Kaitlyn said, turning to me after I had received several high-fives, "We're going to the soccer game. Then to DQ. You will be there, its one of the main championships."

Kyle turned at me, and smiled.

"I'll see you there. We'll hang out."

I smiled, then realized.

I'm only circling back to my source of pain.

* * *

** Woww. Kind of like a cliffhanger, because you dont know what its gonna lead to " well. read & review ! i love all of my reviewers!**


	10. Cafe Complications

**A/N: Ohh wow, guys.  
I'm extremely sorry that i havent been able to update.  
Between dance recitals, drama practice, homework, school stuff, its all so crazy.  
I originally wasnt going to continue this,  
but after request,  
and my lovely reviewers,  
i decided to continue.  
enjoy!**

* * *

It had only been one day since I witness my first heartbreak.

I kept replaying that moment, over and over in my head. I didn't want to believe that any of it happened.

I had promised that Kaitlyn that I would join her and to the soccer game the following day, but I decided to go with Alexis instead.

My brother drove me there, and was going to drive us to the coffee shop afterwards.

We sat and watched through J.V. and beginning of the varsity game, talking about everything.

Andy and Kaitlyn broke up, and it was evident that Alexis had a crush on him. They were talking. There was only one problem about Alexis and her friend situation. She was a best friend of Chloe.

It created a tiny conflict in my mind, but I shook it off. Nothing could ruin our fun for the night planned.

I just knew that I could escape from Kyle tonight, by watching sweaty soccer boys and becoming better friends with Alexis. I needed something to take me away from the dramatic life of being flawed.

'Bzzt.' Alexis's phone vibrates in her pocket loudly.

"Oh!" She jumps up, quickly opening her phone and her eyes brighten reading the txt.

She peers over to me, asking if I'm having a good time.

I nod, besides stating that I was a bit cold.

"Do you wanna go to the café a little earlier?"

"What do you mean by 'a little'?"

"Um… soon."

I thought about it for a few, then asked,

"Who's gonna be there."

Alexis's eyes began to shine a little more, with a guilty smile.

"Kyle and Andy. Now, I know that you and him had a huge issue about liking and stuff; I hope this will be an icebreaker. Please?"

I nod, and she starts jumping up and down, excited to be going.

I called Drake to come pick us up, and we jammed to music there.

We walked in, sitting in the back.

"Hey! Lexis! Liz"

Andy jumps up grabbing Alexis and giving her a noogie.

Kyle puts his hand up as a wave to us, seeing as he's on his phone.

"Liz. You'll never guess who just called." He says.

"Um, I dunno. Who?" Was I supposed to know?

"Your brother. He told us to behave." Should've known. He hates Kyle; I don't get why.

We sat down, on the couch, they guys diagonal from us.

Random talk is usually what our conversations are.

But this time, it was a little weirder.

Alexis was really comfortable with them, going along with everything.

She flirts with them, shows her wilder side.

While I, on the other hand, sit there quietly, acting timid and shy.

I can't control why I act that way, but I can't overpower it.

"Liz!" Alexis whines, rolling her eyes at me,

"why aren't you talking? I thought I'd have you come along for the fun of it, not to just sit there!"

I mumble that I will talk more, for her sake.

Kyle and Alexis start talking about something and get up to talk…

Leaving me with Andy. He hadn't been on my good list lately.

"Andy. Can you tell I don't wanna be here?"

He puts on a half smile and nods,

"I see it. He hurt you that much?"

"Its not the fact that he hurt me, it's the fact he doesn't see me for anything more than to flirt with. That's what I don't get."

"Kyle has changed since we were in middle school. High school made him a bit more, eh, careless toward people. A bit more narcissistic."

"Yeah. I know. He likes Chloe now. That can't be good." I state with a scoff.

"It can't?"

"She's never ever been nice to me. She's flirted with everyone. Been twofaced. Plus, she has pretty overprotective parents."

"I see where that comes from. But, I see how they are together. Wow, eh. Definitely, um, something."

I nod, seeing Kyle & Alexis walking back to the table.

Seeing Andy's gaze, I lean over and whisper,

"You like Alexis?"

His smile grows and his cheeks flush.

'Aww,' I think to myself. 'How adorable!'

I wish that I could have something along those lines.

"LIZ! Look what I can do with my tongue!"

Kyle sticks his tongue out, which is in the shape of a clover.

"Um, cool?" I say, more so unsure.

"Very!" He states, and then throws a random piece of his cookie he bought.

"Ohhh, its on Kensinger!"

From then on we fight playfully, and talk like nothing happened before.

The night continues, but stops short as Kyle gets a call from Chloe.

We get ready to leave, and Kyle and Andy pull Alexis into huge hugs.

Andy motions for me to come over, and pulls me into a big hug.

"Don't tell her, okay?" Andy whispers in my ear.

After pulling away, Kyle's gaze makes me walk over to give him an awkward hug.

I pretty much grabbed Alexis away, and ran out to the car.

"I can't take this." I said to her, as I wiped away a small tear from my face.

I knew I was overreacting.

But this was summer; this was falling hard.

He lives close to me.

His smiles drive me crazy.

His laughs make my heart flutter.

**Nothing is allowing me to let go.  
**

* * *

**Alright. its short, i know. But, its a start to get me off of the long term writers block.  
I love you all for sticking with me,  
Reviews and Reviewers are amazing  
**


	11. Friday Night Kisses

Wow guys; its been a while. My writers block is broken, but my interest is bad on this story. i'll continue.  
Random Fact: we don't have a drum major at my school. Never has there even been one.  
Random Fact 2: we dont call our flagline 'colorguard'. they're just the flagline.  
weird, huh?  
anyways. read on.

* * *

Friday  
Night  
Lights.

Oh, this is everything for me.

Football team, ready to fight after today's pep rally we had.

Band energy pumped up, the loud cheerleaders practicing in the halls.  
I had grabbed a Rockstar©

I walk into the band room, waiting around for Kaitlyn.

Alexis and I talk, about guys; nonetheless.

I stood outside for a little, but as I walk back in, I hear loud, semi-obnoxious laughter.

"WOW! I never thought you were this funny, Jess!"

I see a stumbling, laughing pair of girls.

Jessica and Kaitlyn, drunk.

They're so obvious; it's amazing they haven't already been caught.

Two seniors, friends and marching mates, rush them into the instrument room.

I follow them, running and getting water to flush it out of their system, but there was refusal.

"I don't WANT water. Smirnoff please!"

Kaitlyn is the one I keep an eye on. Jessica is taken over by the seniors, being more uncooperative.

I keep a close distance to Kait, seeing as.

My heart drops to my knees as following Kaitlyn lead me to the outside, where I see the lovesick boy of my heart, flirting with Chloe.

My mismatched clothes, due to cold weather, and my blue hair in support of the band, seemed completely ignored compared to her in her short cheerleading skirt.

I stomp back, tugging on a protesting Kaitlyn's hand.

"But I don't wanna!"

"Kaitlyn. We have to get your uniform, to put it on, and try to sober you up for marching on field."

"Noooooo!"

She was as sensible as a two year old.

I was already gaining a headache, and I realized that this was already turning to a night when I didn't want to be there, and we weren't even to the field.

It was about ten minutes later that I was sitting on the bus, alone. My casual friend who I usually sat with was at her father's and stepmom-to-be's wedding.

It had to be freezing out, and the nerds in the front were singing "thriller", competing with everyone in the back, singing a new Justin Timberlake song. Ew.

I turned on my I-pod and cranked the volume up, blaring 'the academy is…' staring at the scenery, all alone.

We arrived about 45 minutes later; and sitting up in the stands was crucial, seeing as hiding Kaitlyn from the band parents and directors is important. I helped her up the steps, to sit between the top rows of us few freshmen and the senior guys. She sat next to a senior, who knew what to say & do for Kaitlyn. I started to walk back near Alexis, but I was stopped.

"Come sit next to me. Top row, we voted you're allowed. I want to talk to you."

Kyle stands in front of me, arms folded across his chest so I couldn't walk away.

"What? You too innocent for it?"

I giggled, sounding like a kid. "Wow. No. I'm not that innocent."

His eyes widen, a bit shocked by this.

"True; with your player brother, I'm not shocked that it runs in your blood."

"Not that way! I'm not all bad. I've only been exposed to a few bad things in my life. I've never gotten drunk. I've never have had sex."

"Yet you say you're not innocent? Psht."

"Well. I dunno. It just seems that way."

"Fine. Be naughty, I don't care. Its up to you." He passes me his trumpet, implying for me to deep throat it. What a weird thing we get judged by; deep throating a trumpet mouthpiece.

I shove it back at him. I don't want his spit in my mouth that way.

He laughs, "Have you heard the new song by 'Sum 41'? They're my favorite band."

Nodding, I pull out my I-pod from my pocket, implying that it's on there.

His smile entails that he is pretty impressed by me.

We stand there for a few minutes, just smiling.

"NOOO! I don't LIKE them!" A shrieking voice pierces our ears.

"Um. I'll be right back…"

And I slide through the bleachers to Kaitlyn.

I ask what's wrong, to Brandon, sitting next to her.

"I asked if she liked the game so far."

Almost laughing, asking Kaitlyn, "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I don't like them! That…team!"

"I don't think any of us do. Why don't you?"

"Well," she thinks for a second, then replies, "they're red!"

Groaning, I tell her to keep her opinions a bit quieter while walking back.

Kyle shoots me this confused look.

"Two freshmen, one bottle of Smirnoff."

"Enough said. Who else?"

Pointing down to the percussion, at the bells section, two frazzled seniors try to calm down Jessica.

One of them walks away, while the other still tries reason.

"Ohhh." "Yeah."

We sit there in silence, for a couple of minutes, and I say,

"My ears are freezing. Wow, how do you stand it?"

"It's called being a guy. Girls say we're full of thick headedness, I think its just thick blood."

He digs into his pockets, and pulls out a hat.

"I can't have you freeze up to death like a Popsicle." He says while placing it on my head.

I can smell his scent through his hat when I pull it over my face. Yum.

Half time was soon, and I see both Kaitlyn and Jess being loaded up with water, a sobriety act.

M.U.I., the seniors call it. Marching under the influence.

Before the half time show, Kyle tells me about almost everyone who's done 'MUI", including a football game where him and his two friends were so close to getting caught.

At half time, through the gaps of people, I tried keeping tabs on Kaitlyn.

By afterwards, she tried telling me through stumbling that she was fine. Brandon took over and grabbed her another water.

I stood in a long line on the other side of the stadium to get a hot chocolate.

Waiting with Alexis, Torie, and Andy in line, I see Torie flirting with Andy.

Not a good idea.

"Lex, why is she flirting so much with him?"

"She likes him." Alexis states, nearly in a whisper.

Her face is sad, and it looks like her heart is near torn.

"Don't worry about it. He asks you to hang out. He calls you. Not her."

She looks hopeful for a second, and then looking back at them, her head drops.

"I thought this time, I could get it to work out. Torie HAS to step in, doesn't she?"

"I know how that feels. Try Jake."

She nods her head, with a frown still in place.

"Come on. I don't need hot chocolate. We'll go back in the stands and I'll cheer you up somehow."

She follows me, not responding otherwise.

I figured that I could have Kyle help me out, but when returning to the already filled stands, I see Chloe snuck over to sit with him.

"Great, just great." I mutter, under my breath.

Alexis tilts her head, confused to what's wrong with me.

"Chloe." I spat, disgusted.

She puts on a face of sympathy, and our once good night turns into a night of wallowing because of our pathetic selves.

She tells me of how it seemed almost perfect for the two of them to get together, but Torie ruined it.

"She has a bit more authority, with her sister and all. I'm just another cheerleader to him, I guess."

I knew how she felt. I am not a cheerleader, nor popular and as pretty and peppy as Chloe.

The game was almost over, and it was freezing.

The clock was running out, and I realized I still had Kyle's hat.

I figured I'd better go back up the stands and give it back to him.

The buzzer rang as the time ran out to zero, us winning by 2 touchdowns.

I look over at Kyle, to find where I can easily route giving the hat back.

There he is.

His lips.

Kissing Chloe.

For the second time in two weeks, my heart had dropped to my knees.

My clarinet and I bound down the steps.

I hear Alexis in front of me.

"Did you see that? He gave her a hug! Now I know he likes her! She just has to go and…oh my gosh! You're crying! What happened!?!"

I shake my head, no, pulling the hat over my eyes.

She stops me, and pulls me into a hug.

"Its okay, Liz. I'm here for you. Anytime you want to talk about it, you can. Guys suck; throw rocks at them. Then again, girls suck. Throw rocks at them. Screw it. The world sucks. We'll throw rocks at them all."

I nod silently; listening to my own sobs encasing me.

I ride home, with the hat over my eyes, not even my Ipod on.

By the time we're back at school, I put my clarinet away, ready to leave.

When I realize: Shit. I still have his hat.

Stomping over to his seat, I'm thankful for him not being there yet.

I throw it, and stomp out to the car with tear stains.

* * *

Ouch. hm. i think i know wht this feels like.  
I'll update again soon.  
the more reviews i get, the sooner i review.  
love you all


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